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Targeted MRSA surveillance may be useful in guiding empiric therapy
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Among a cohort of patients who responded positively to two methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus-targeted questions on a triage admission form, 11% had a positive polymerase chain reaction test for the infection.
These findings were presented by Anthony Harris, MD, of the University of Maryland in Baltimore at the 2009 meeting of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.
“We hoped to determine the frequency of MRSA positive clinical culture among hospital patients in different risk categories of targeted active surveillance programs,” Harris said. The researchers asked patients whether they had been admitted to any healthcare facility in the last 12 months and if they had a skin infection such as an abscess, a spider bite, a boil or cellulitis at the time of admission. Patients who answered yes to either of the questions were identified as high-risk and given a nasal culture.
There were 29,978 patients surveyed; 12,080 of these patients received antibiotics and/or had a clinical culture within the first 48 hours. Of those patients, 5,609 (46%) had answered yes to one or both of the target questions and 623 (11%) were positive for MRSA in a polymerase chain reaction test, according to the results. Upon the same admission, 24% of patients with a positive polymerase chain reaction test also had a positive MRSA clinical culture.
“From these data we may conclude that the risk of MRSA clinical culture positivity is far higher in patients who screened positive,” Harris said. – by Rob Volansky
For more information:
- Harris A. #52. Presented at: Annual Meeting of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America; March 19-22, 2009; San Diego.